Nigerian Athletes’ Previous Training, Practice and Current Knowledge of Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Background /Aim: The public health burden of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and the need to increase the rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in communities including the world of sports cannot be overemphasized. The study aimed at assessing the level of previous training, practice and present knowledge of bystander CPR among Nigerian athletes.

Methods: A national cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of Nigerian athletes was carried out involving 25 different sporting events. The participants at the 21st National Sports Festival that held at Delta State, Nigeria filled the questionnaire, which was continued after the festival at some of their various states. The final data was analysed with the SPSS Version 25, using both descriptive and chi-square statistics, as well as one-sample t-test. The significance level was set at P < .05.

Results: In all, 419 athletes participated in the study - 278 (66.3%) males and 141(33.7%) females with age range of 11- 49 years and mean age of 23.43 + 5.66 (SD). On average, 67.86% of the athletes had never had any previous bystander CPR training while 55.73% never practiced the procedure. Significantly more of the athletes never had CPR bystander training before this study (P = .000), as well as no previous practice (P = .0000), which did not significantly differ between contact and non-contact sports athletes. Significantly more of them had poor bystander CPR theoretical knowledge (P = .000) that did not vary significantly between contact and non-contact sports athletes, with average of only 27.23% of the athletes giving correct answers.

Conclusion: The study has revealed significantly low previous training, practice and poor knowledge of bystander CPR among Nigerian athletes. There is urgent need for organised, sustainable bystander CPR training facilities for Nigerian athletes.